Black History Month | Cleansing ceremony for banished people in Frenchdale Native Farm

The department of Arts, Culture, Sports and Recreation together with Barolong Boo Ratlou Ba Ga Makgobi celebrated Black History Month by remembering honoring the lives of the banished people who were inhabitants taken out of their homes or communities and kept as prisoners in Mahikeng Frenchdale Native Trust Farm.
Banishment was common back then, because police believed it was a remedy and neutralize individuals who were politically active from the rest of the community.
Barolong Boo Ratlou Ba Ga Makgobi community like any other in the province carries a rich history of what happened during the days when some of the patriots were banished. These banished people are part of the heroes and heroines in their respective communities who played a role in the liberation struggle.
The event aimed to create awareness for the community about their history and heritage of Makgobistad.
It also served as a platform of reviving culture, traditions and customs for the people in the community.
The following are some of the people who were banished to Frenchdale Native Farm:
• Kgosi Paulus Howell Mopeli (younger brother to Kgosi Moshoeshoe of Lesotho), who later died in Frenchdale on September 21, 1971.
• Piet Mokoena,Matela Matsooe, Caswel Moloi (all from Witshoek in the Free State).
• Treatey Mahlouoe Mopeli (wife to Kgosi Mopeli) who was banished to Frenchdale on 29th August 1957.
• Theophilus Tshangela was also banished from Kwamaleida in the Amadiba location, Bizana district in the Eastern Cape to Frenchdale Native Trust Farm.
• Kgosi Thompson Dhlamini from Bergville in Natal was banished to Frenchdale on August 18, 1954 and died on the 4th of March 1965.